Oligarchs

My thoughts on the Pistorius/Steenkamp case (as everyone seems to feel the need to express these) are that the whole tragic case has only been compounded by the astonishing way in which every detail of it is being broadcast - almost in real time. No good can come of this prurient desire to splash every morsel of information over every media outlet in the world, and it is depressing in the extreme. That's that.

So next up Chelsea again, shunted aside to a lunchtime kick-off by the ridiculous display of the Capital One cup final (seriously - and I am a football fan let me tell you - who but followers of Bradford and Swansea can be looking forward to that?) The boys from the Bridge are hardly an ideal team to face at such a critical juncture. A few seasons ago, I would have feared the worst; the season before and the one just gone, the tone would have been a good deal more optimistic; this time, it could go either way. They are still a good side, despite their recent minor fall from grace (which is actually only a part of the decline in English Premier League football in comparison to say Italian or German sides - in the Champions League, that is) and capable of giving any opponent a game. Amazingly, Torres continues to endure the purgatory of being Roman's golden boy, but I feel despite the seemingly endless toil and humiliation that he will always carry a threat. In Hazard and Oscar they have two fantastic players, and of course fabulous Frankie Lampard is banging them in to try and reach that record before he heads off to Kazakhstan, or China, or wherever the hell they send them these days. Cech looks a lot weaker than he has ever done, but is nonetheless big and strong with a scary hat on. For us, Tevez ought to be buoyed by some good performances and his goal against Leeds, Kun is hot hot hot, and Vinnie looks as if he may make it back from his calf (or is it foal?) injury. So, hard to predict the outcome of this one. I will say 2-1 City, though fear it could be a draw or even the reverse of that scoreline.

For some reason, I thought the Rags would be playing the second leg of their Madrid tie during the week, but of course they've changed the setup once more, and it's on next week. Zzzzz. They face the Hoops at Shepherd's Bush, most likely without pube head, but that shouldn't make much difference, and I fully expect them to run away with it there 1-0. All of which means we will probably have to pedal like hell just to stand still. But hey - there's pride if nothing else to play for.

Further to my last update, I've just finished Stephen King's On Writing (I also came across a review [well, sort of a review] of Pet Sematary today, and now I feel I must read that one. As my Isness said, it would almost be possible to read nothing but Stephen King) which I've been meaning to read for a while now. Worth the wait, and it's set me to thinking a little about 'the craft' and my place in it. I'm going to take on Stephen's challenge in the book, and aim to produce the fruits of my labour in the final post on this blog. I will say no more on that subject because the door must remain firmly shut.